11 TV Actors Who Will Never Be As Famous As They Were In The '90s

The 1990s were a magical time, weren’t they? It was the decade of both Tupac and N’Sync, of both Pogs and Discmans, of both T-1000 and the Iron Giant. But most importantly for our purposes, the ‘90s were the decade where television really blew up, as both widespread use of VCRs and cable/satellite broadened how people could get immersed in the boob tube. Unfortunately, the proliferation of popular TV series necessarily meant that not all of the people involved in those shows would be able to find the same kind of success in the future.

And so, here are 11 actors and actresses that will (almost definitely) never again reach the same heights of fame that they did during that most grunge-worthy decade. Not that we’re saying it’s a bad thing by any means, as only the most relatively minute number of people can boast a TV stint putting them front and center in many millions of people’s homes.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

What He’s Famous For: While millions of people annually enjoy Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ work as young Simba in The Lion King, his most noteworthy piece of live-action acting came during the eight-season run of the hit sitcom Home Improvement, where he played the brainy and sarcastic middle child Randy. And his most noteworthy piece of still-action was being on the cover of literally every teen magazine printed during those years.

What’s Happened Since Then: Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ acting career got much more spotty in the 2000s and beyond, as he appeared in random episodes of The Simpsons, Veronica Mars and 8 Simple Rules. His biggest mark has been made reuniting with Tim Allen for the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing, for which Thomas has also done some episode-directing.